Most realistic Sword battles
10-19-04, 11:47 AM
#26
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Originally posted by tofu
I'd have to go with the ones in Seven Samurai as the most realistic.
I'd have to go with the ones in Seven Samurai as the most realistic.
10-19-04, 01:10 PM
#27
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Originally posted by RocShemp
Say what you will about the movie, the swordplay in The 13th Warrior was very good. You could really sense the weight of the blades. Especially in the duel between Herger (Dennis Storhoi) and Angus.
Say what you will about the movie, the swordplay in The 13th Warrior was very good. You could really sense the weight of the blades. Especially in the duel between Herger (Dennis Storhoi) and Angus.
10-19-04, 02:44 PM
#31
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Thank goodness only one person mentioned a LoTR film, i was sadly expecting more since fantasy films are really non-applicable in realism of historic battles.
While Kurosawa's films are unmatched in medieval Japanese story and actually one of the central reasons why i pick the 50s as my favorite cinema decade, the sword battles are fairly typical of the time albeit more gritty.
While Kurosawa's films are unmatched in medieval Japanese story and actually one of the central reasons why i pick the 50s as my favorite cinema decade, the sword battles are fairly typical of the time albeit more gritty.
10-19-04, 03:03 PM
#33
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Originally posted by Rivero
As much as I like Kurosawa I don't think it had the most realistic sword play. But then again it is difficult to tell because honestly none of us really know the days were wars were fought with the blade and not the bullet so it is hard to tell what it really was like at that time.
10-19-04, 03:20 PM
#34
DVD Talk Legend
The swordplay in Seven Samurai is pretty realistic, especially regards to the jumbled, messy, chaotic nature of sword battle. It is neither stylized nor balletic, but presented realistically.
Jeck goes into this during his audio commentary. Well worth a listen, as its the best commentary track ever recorded. EVER RECORDED. Don't believe me? I'll break you with my bare hands!!!
Jeck goes into this during his audio commentary. Well worth a listen, as its the best commentary track ever recorded. EVER RECORDED. Don't believe me? I'll break you with my bare hands!!!
10-19-04, 03:50 PM
#35
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Originally posted by flixtime
:
While acknowledging the fact that I've neither participated in nor witnessed a to-the-death swordfight, I'd still like to nominate the last fight scene in Japan's The Twilight Samurai (2002) as a good representation of what it must really be like.
:
While acknowledging the fact that I've neither participated in nor witnessed a to-the-death swordfight, I'd still like to nominate the last fight scene in Japan's The Twilight Samurai (2002) as a good representation of what it must really be like.
10-20-04, 03:15 AM
#40
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Duelists, plus many of the japanese films mentioned. Much of what happens depends on the type of sword, and how evenly matched the combatants are. With samurai as I understand it, it was not unusual for both to draw and strike a deathblow in the same instant. With one much more skilled or talented than the others, cutting a swath of death from single blows isn't unreasonable either. The sort of cut a katana makes is what shock is all about.
OTOH a modern sword like an epee offers much greater defense, so it was very practical for a fight to be to first blood. That first blood was very likely on your sword arm, and put the wounded person at a fairly great disadvantage where it would be ungentlemanly to continue.
My guess is that most real combat is like the latter, a contest until first blood, then the wounded person gives up or is completed disarmed and killed.
Realistic swordplay isn't a car chase, its a car crash. What gives it weight are the consequences, which few movies want to dwell on.
OTOH a modern sword like an epee offers much greater defense, so it was very practical for a fight to be to first blood. That first blood was very likely on your sword arm, and put the wounded person at a fairly great disadvantage where it would be ungentlemanly to continue.
My guess is that most real combat is like the latter, a contest until first blood, then the wounded person gives up or is completed disarmed and killed.
Realistic swordplay isn't a car chase, its a car crash. What gives it weight are the consequences, which few movies want to dwell on.
10-20-04, 06:44 AM
#42
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Many of the great combat sequences mentioned here were created by the swordmaster Bill Hobbs. He has been doing it since the sixties and most recently his work was seen in The Count of Monte Cristo.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0387643/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0387643/
10-20-04, 12:34 PM
#44
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Well if you really want to be specific, duff beer is right. The most 'realistic' sword battle wouldn't be a 5 or 10 minute duel between sword masters fighting to a stale mate. It would probably last about 45 seconds with one guy getting a serious slash across the gut.
10-20-04, 01:54 PM
#45
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Well argue semantics all you want; most people are chiming in with their favorite sword duels/battles, not the most realistic. So you might as well pop some kernels and amuse yourself with the general public's inability to follow directions.
Oh, and mine is the Schwartz battle from Spaceballs.
Oh, and mine is the Schwartz battle from Spaceballs.
10-20-04, 03:12 PM
#47
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Matt i specifically said twice that this is battles and not duels. Before the first gun, the harquebus invented in the late 15th century, armies actually fought with swords.
10-20-04, 04:06 PM
#48
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Originally posted by duff beer
Matt i specifically said twice that this is battles and not duels. Before the first gun, the harquebus invented in the late 15th century, armies actually fought with swords.
Matt i specifically said twice that this is battles and not duels. Before the first gun, the harquebus invented in the late 15th century, armies actually fought with swords.
You know you did.
And I know that you know that you did.
But nobody's paying attention.
I mean honestly: Lord of the Rings? Someone mentioned Princess Bride with a sarcastic emoticon and a few people jumped in with 
's. So why fight a lost cause? Lie back and enjoy it. That having been said, I'd also like to volunteer Blade as a continuance of ignorance.
10-20-04, 04:20 PM
#49
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Originally posted by Mr. Salty
The duel between Liam Neeson and Tim Roth at the end of "Rob Roy" gets my vote. I like how Neeson, who is suffering from a previous injury, gets winded swinging the heavy broadsword around. The fight also looks very natural and unchoreographed, with a very realistic ending.
The duel between Liam Neeson and Tim Roth at the end of "Rob Roy" gets my vote. I like how Neeson, who is suffering from a previous injury, gets winded swinging the heavy broadsword around. The fight also looks very natural and unchoreographed, with a very realistic ending.
Most fun: Princess Bride.
10-20-04, 05:16 PM
#50
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There's a real difference from Gun duels and WWII battles, which is why i was stressing military battles during the ancient and medieval world showing the grit and dirtiness of the battle of many frantic soldiers.